Net::DNS::Resolver - DNS resolver class

  use Net::DNS;

  my $res = Net::DNS::Resolver->new;

  # Perform a lookup, using the searchlist if appropriate.
  my $answer = $res->search('example.com');

  # Perform a lookup, without the searchlist
  my $answer = $res->query('example.com', 'MX');

  # Perform a lookup, without pre or post-processing
  my $answer = $res->send('example.com', 'MX', 'CH');

  # Send a prebuilt packet
  my $packet = Net::DNS::Packet->new(...);
  my $answer = $res->send($packet);

Instances of the CWNet::DNS::Resolver class represent resolver objects. A program can have multiple resolver objects, each maintaining its own state information such as the nameservers to be queried, whether recursion is desired, etc.

  # Use the system defaults
  my $res = Net::DNS::Resolver->new;

  # Use my own configuration file
  my $res = Net::DNS::Resolver->new(config_file => '/my/dns.conf');

  # Set options in the constructor
  my $res = Net::DNS::Resolver->new(
        nameservers => [qw(10.1.1.128 10.1.2.128)],
        recurse     => 0,
        debug       => 1,
  );

Returns a resolver object. If given no arguments, CWnew() returns an object configured to your system's defaults. On UNIX systems the defaults are read from the following files, in the order indicated:

    /etc/resolv.conf
    $HOME/.resolv.conf
    ./.resolv.conf

The following keywords are recognized in resolver configuration files:

domain

The default domain.

search

A space-separated list of domains to put in the search list.

nameserver

A space-separated list of nameservers to query.

Files except for /etc/resolv.conf must be owned by the effective userid running the program or they won't be read. In addition, several environment variables can also contain configuration information; see ENVIRONMENT.

On Windows systems, an attempt is made to determine the system defaults using the registry. This is still a work in progress; systems with many dynamically configured network interfaces may confuse Net::DNS.

You can include a configuration file of your own when creating a resolver object:

 # Use my own configuration file 
 my $res = Net::DNS::Resolver->new(config_file => '/my/dns.conf');

This is supported on both UNIX and Windows. Values pulled from a custom configuration file override the the system's defaults, but can still be overridden by the other arguments to new().

Explicit arguments to new override both the system's defaults and the values of the custom configuration file, if any. The following arguments to new() are supported:

nameservers

An array reference of nameservers to query.

searchlist

An array reference of domains.

recurse

debug

domain

port

srcaddr

srcport

tcp_timeout

udp_timeout

retrans

retry

usecv

stayopen

igntc

defnames

dnsrch

persistent_tcp

persistent_udp

dnssec

For more information on any of these options, please consult the method of the same name.

    $packet = $res->search('mailhost');
    $packet = $res->search('mailhost.example.com');
    $packet = $res->search('192.168.1.1');
    $packet = $res->search('example.com', 'MX');
    $packet = $res->search('user.passwd.example.com', 'TXT', 'HS');

Performs a DNS query for the given name, applying the searchlist if appropriate. The search algorithm is as follows:

1.

If the name contains at least one dot, try it as is.

2.

If the name doesn't end in a dot then append each item in the search list to the name. This is only done if dnsrch is true.

3.

If the name doesn't contain any dots, try it as is.

The record type and class can be omitted; they default to A and IN. If the name looks like an IP address (4 dot-separated numbers), then an appropriate PTR query will be performed.

Returns a Net::DNS::Packet object, or undef if no answers were found. If you need to examine the response packet whether it contains any answers or not, use the send() method instead.

    $packet = $res->query('mailhost');
    $packet = $res->query('mailhost.example.com');
    $packet = $res->query('192.168.1.1');
    $packet = $res->query('example.com', 'MX');
    $packet = $res->query('user.passwd.example.com', 'TXT', 'HS');

Performs a DNS query for the given name; the search list is not applied. If the name doesn't contain any dots and defnames is true then the default domain will be appended.

The record type and class can be omitted; they default to A and IN. If the name looks like an IP address (IPv4 or IPv6), then an appropriate PTR query will be performed.

Returns a Net::DNS::Packet object, or undef if no answers were found. If you need to examine the response packet whether it contains any answers or not, use the send() method instead.

    $packet = $res->send($packet_object);
    $packet = $res->send('mailhost.example.com');
    $packet = $res->send('example.com', 'MX');
    $packet = $res->send('user.passwd.example.com', 'TXT', 'HS');

Performs a DNS query for the given name. Neither the searchlist nor the default domain will be appended.

The argument list can be either a CWNet::DNS::Packet object or a list of strings. The record type and class can be omitted; they default to A and IN. If the name looks like an IP address (Ipv4 or IPv6), then an appropriate PTR query will be performed.

Returns a CWNet::DNS::Packet object whether there were any answers or not. Use CW$packet->header->ancount or CW$packet->answer to find out if there were any records in the answer section. Returns CWundef if there was an error.

    @zone = $res->axfr;
    @zone = $res->axfr('example.com');
    @zone = $res->axfr('passwd.example.com', 'HS');

Performs a zone transfer from the first nameserver listed in CWnameservers. If the zone is omitted, it defaults to the first zone listed in the resolver's search list. If the class is omitted, it defaults to IN.

Returns a list of CWNet::DNS::RR objects, or CWundef if the zone transfer failed.

The redundant SOA record that terminates the zone transfer is not returned to the caller.

See also axfr_start and axfr_next.

Here's an example that uses a timeout:

    $res->tcp_timeout(1);
    my @zone = $res->axfr('example.com');

    if (@zone) {
        foreach my $rr (@zone) {
            $rr->print;
        }
    } else {
        print 'Zone transfer failed: ', $res->errorstring, "\n";
    }

    $res->axfr_start;
    $res->axfr_start('example.com');
    $res->axfr_start('example.com', 'HS');

Starts a zone transfer from the first nameserver listed in CWnameservers. If the zone is omitted, it defaults to the first zone listed in the resolver's search list. If the class is omitted, it defaults to IN.

IMPORTANT:

This method currently returns the CWIO::Socket::INET object that will be used for reading, or CWundef on error. DO NOT DEPEND ON CWaxfr_next() returning a socket object. THIS WILL CHANGE in future releases.

Use CWaxfr_next to read the zone records one at a time.

    $res->axfr_start('example.com');

    while (my $rr = $res->axfr_next) {
            $rr->print;
    }

Reads records from a zone transfer one at a time.

Returns CWundef at the end of the zone transfer. The redundant SOA record that terminates the zone transfer is not returned.

See also axfr.

    @nameservers = $res->nameservers;
    $res->nameservers('192.168.1.1', '192.168.2.2', '192.168.3.3');

Gets or sets the nameservers to be queried.

Also see the IPv6 transport notes below

    $res->print;

Prints the resolver state on the standard output.

    print $res->string;

Returns a string representation of the resolver state.

    @searchlist = $res->searchlist;
    $res->searchlist('example.com', 'a.example.com', 'b.example.com');

Gets or sets the resolver search list.

    print 'sending queries to port ', $res->port, "\n";
    $res->port(9);

Gets or sets the port to which we send queries. This can be useful for testing a nameserver running on a non-standard port. The default is port 53.

    print 'sending queries from port ', $res->srcport, "\n";
    $res->srcport(5);

Gets or sets the port from which we send queries. The default is 0, meaning any port.

    print 'sending queries from address ', $res->srcaddr, "\n";
    $res->srcaddr('192.168.1.1');

Gets or sets the source address from which we send queries. Convenient for forcing queries out a specific interfaces on a multi-homed host. The default is 0.0.0.0, meaning any local address.

    $socket = $res->bgsend($packet_object) || die " $res->errorstring";

    $socket = $res->bgsend('mailhost.example.com');
    $socket = $res->bgsend('example.com', 'MX');
    $socket = $res->bgsend('user.passwd.example.com', 'TXT', 'HS');

Performs a background DNS query for the given name, i.e., sends a query packet to the first nameserver listed in CW$res->nameservers and returns immediately without waiting for a response. The program can then perform other tasks while waiting for a response from the nameserver.

The argument list can be either a CWNet::DNS::Packet object or a list of strings. The record type and class can be omitted; they default to A and IN. If the name looks like an IP address (4 dot-separated numbers), then an appropriate PTR query will be performed.

Returns an CWIO::Socket::INET object or CWundef on error in which case the reason for failure can be found through a call to the errorstring method.

The program must determine when the socket is ready for reading and call CW$res->bgread to get the response packet. You can use CW$res->bgisready or CWIO::Select to find out if the socket is ready before reading it.

    $packet = $res->bgread($socket);
    undef $socket;

Reads the answer from a background query (see bgsend). The argument is an CWIO::Socket object returned by CWbgsend.

Returns a CWNet::DNS::Packet object or CWundef on error.

The programmer should close or destroy the socket object after reading it.

    $socket = $res->bgsend('foo.example.com');
    until ($res->bgisready($socket)) {
        # do some other processing
    }
    $packet = $res->bgread($socket);
    $socket = undef;

Determines whether a socket is ready for reading. The argument is an CWIO::Socket object returned by CW$res->bgsend.

Returns true if the socket is ready, false if not.

    my $tsig = $res->tsig;

    $res->tsig(Net::DNS::RR->new("$key_name TSIG $key"));

    $tsig = Net::DNS::RR->new("$key_name TSIG $key");
    $tsig->fudge(6);
    $res->tsig($tsig);

    $res->tsig($key_name, $key);

    $res->tsig(0);

Get or set the TSIG record used to automatically sign outgoing queries and updates. Call with an argument of 0 or '' to turn off automatic signing.

The default resolver behavior is not to sign any packets. You must call this method to set the key if you'd like the resolver to sign packets automatically.

You can also sign packets manually see the CWNet::DNS::Packet and CWNet::DNS::Update manual pages for examples. TSIG records in manually-signed packets take precedence over those that the resolver would add automatically.

    print 'retrans interval: ', $res->retrans, "\n";
    $res->retrans(3);

Get or set the retransmission interval. The default is 5.

    print 'number of tries: ', $res->retry, "\n";
    $res->retry(2);

Get or set the number of times to try the query. The default is 4.

    print 'recursion flag: ', $res->recurse, "\n";
    $res->recurse(0);

Get or set the recursion flag. If this is true, nameservers will be requested to perform a recursive query. The default is true.

    print 'defnames flag: ', $res->defnames, "\n";
    $res->defnames(0);

Get or set the defnames flag. If this is true, calls to query will append the default domain to names that contain no dots. The default is true.

    print 'dnsrch flag: ', $res->dnsrch, "\n";
    $res->dnsrch(0);

Get or set the dnsrch flag. If this is true, calls to search will apply the search list. The default is true.

    print 'debug flag: ', $res->debug, "\n";
    $res->debug(1);

Get or set the debug flag. If set, calls to search, query, and send will print debugging information on the standard output. The default is false.

    print 'usevc flag: ', $res->usevc, "\n";
    $res->usevc(1);

Get or set the usevc flag. If true, then queries will be performed using virtual circuits (TCP) instead of datagrams (UDP). The default is false.

    print 'TCP timeout: ', $res->tcp_timeout, "\n";
    $res->tcp_timeout(1);

Get or set the TCP timeout in seconds. A timeout of CWundef means indefinite. The default is 120 seconds (2 minutes).

    print 'UDP timeout: ', $res->udp_timeout, "\n";
    $res->udp_timeout(1);

Get or set the UDP timeout in seconds. A timeout of CWundef means the retry and retrans settings will be just utilized to perform the retries until they are exhausted. The default is CWundef.

    print 'Persistent TCP flag: ', $res->persistent_tcp, "\n";
    $res->persistent_tcp(1);

Get or set the persistent TCP setting. If set to true, Net::DNS will keep a TCP socket open for each host:port to which it connects. This is useful if you're using TCP and need to make a lot of queries or updates to the same nameserver.

This option defaults to false unless you're running under a SOCKSified Perl, in which case it defaults to true.

    print 'Persistent UDP flag: ', $res->persistent_udp, "\n";
    $res->persistent_udp(1);

Get or set the persistent UDP setting. If set to true, Net::DNS will keep a single UDP socket open for all queries. This is useful if you're using UDP and need to make a lot of queries or updates.

    print 'igntc flag: ', $res->igntc, "\n";
    $res->igntc(1);

Get or set the igntc flag. If true, truncated packets will be ignored. If false, truncated packets will cause the query to be retried using TCP. The default is false.

    print 'query status: ', $res->errorstring, "\n";

Returns a string containing the status of the most recent query.

    print 'last answer was from: ', $res->answerfrom, "\n";

Returns the IP address from which we received the last answer in response to a query.

    print 'size of last answer: ', $res->answersize, "\n";

Returns the size in bytes of the last answer we received in response to a query.

    print "dnssec flag: ", $res->dnssec, "\n";
    $res->dnssec(0);

Enabled DNSSEC this will set the checking disabled flag in the query header and add EDNS0 data as in RFC2671 and RFC3225

When set to true the answer and additional section of queries from secured zones will contain DNSKEY, NSEC and RRSIG records.

Setting calling the dnssec method with a non-zero value will set the UDP packet size to the default value of 2048. If that is to small or to big for your environement you should call the udppacketsize() method immeditatly after.

   $res->dnssec(1);    # turns on DNSSEC and sets udp packetsize to 2048
   $res->udppacketsize(1);   # lowers the UDP pakcet size

The method will Croak::croak with the message You called the Net::DNS::Resolver::dnssec() method but do not have Net::DNS::SEC installed at ... if you call it without Net::DNS::SEC being in your CW@INC path.

    print "checking disabled flag: ", $res->dnssec, "\n";
    $res->dnssec(1);
    $res->cdflag(1);

Sets or gets the CD bit for a dnssec query. This bit is always zero for non dnssec queries. When the dnssec is enabled the flag can be set to 1.

    print "udppacketsize: ", $res->udppacketsize, "\n";
    $res->udppacketsize(2);

udppacketsize will set or get the packet size. If set to a value greater than Net::DNS::PACKETSZ() an EDNS extension will be added indicating suppport for MTU path recovery.

Default udppacketsize is Net::DNS::PACKETSZ() (512)

Net::DNS::Resolver is actually an empty subclass. At compile time a super class is chosen based on the current platform. A side benefit of this allows for easy modification of the methods in Net::DNS::Resolver. You simply add a method to the namespace!

For example, if we wanted to cache lookups:

 package Net::DNS::Resolver;

 my %cache;

 sub search {
        my ($self, @args) = @_;

        return $cache{@args} ||= $self->SUPER::search(@args);
 }

The Net::DNS::Resolver library will use IPv6 transport if the appropriate libraries (Socket6 and IO::Socket::INET6) are available and the address the server tries to connect to is an IPv6 address.

The print() will method will report if IPv6 transport is available.

You can use the force_v4() method with a non-zero argument to force IPv4 transport.

The nameserver() method has IPv6 dependend behavior. If IPv6 is not available or IPv4 transport has been forced the nameserver() method will only return IPv4 addresses.

For example

    $res->nameservers('192.168.1.1', '192.168.2.2', '2001:610:240:0:53:0:0:3');
    $res->force_v4(1);
    print join (" ",$res->nameserver());

Will print: 192.168.1.1 192.168.2.2

The following environment variables can also be used to configure the resolver:

    # Bourne Shell
    RES_NAMESERVERS="192.168.1.1 192.168.2.2 192.168.3.3"
    export RES_NAMESERVERS

    # C Shell
    setenv RES_NAMESERVERS "192.168.1.1 192.168.2.2 192.168.3.3"

A space-separated list of nameservers to query.

    # Bourne Shell
    RES_SEARCHLIST="example.com sub1.example.com sub2.example.com"
    export RES_SEARCHLIST

    # C Shell
    setenv RES_SEARCHLIST "example.com sub1.example.com sub2.example.com"

A space-separated list of domains to put in the search list.

    # Bourne Shell
    LOCALDOMAIN=example.com
    export LOCALDOMAIN

    # C Shell
    setenv LOCALDOMAIN example.com

The default domain.

    # Bourne Shell
    RES_OPTIONS="retrans:3 retry:2 debug"
    export RES_OPTIONS

    # C Shell
    setenv RES_OPTIONS "retrans:3 retry:2 debug"

A space-separated list of resolver options to set. Options that take values are specified as option:value.

Error reporting and handling needs to be improved.

The current implementation supports TSIG only on outgoing packets. No validation of server replies is performed.

Copyright (c) 1997-2002 Michael Fuhr.

Portions Copyright (c) 2002-2004 Chris Reinhardt. Portions Copyright (c) 2005 Olaf M. Kolkman

All rights reserved. This program is free software; you may redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

perl(1), Net::DNS, Net::DNS::Packet, Net::DNS::Update, Net::DNS::Header, Net::DNS::Question, Net::DNS::RR, resolver(5), RFC 1035, RFC 1034 Section 4.3.5